Blackhawks 4, Canucks 3 (SO)
CHICAGO -- Winning in a shootout on the strength of Andrew Shaw's goal, the league-leading Chicago Blackhawks beat Vancouver 4-3 on Tuesday night, matching Anaheim's six-year-old record of 16 games with a point to start the season.
Getting to overtime gave the Hawks (13-0-3) a share of the record established in 2006-07, when Anaheim went 12-0-4 to open the 2006-07 season, and went on to win the Stanley Cup. Chicago's previous three losses were in shootouts.
Patrick Kane and Chris Higgins had traded goals in the second shootout round, Kane's ruled good only after a replay proved he didn't hit the puck twice.
Vancouver defenseman Kevin Bieksa tied the game on a 55-foot slapshot with 1:01 left in regulation time. It was the second goal for the Canucks in the final 2:42 of the third period, Alexander Edler getting the other. In both cases, Alexandre Burrows screened Chicago goaltender Ray Emery.
Vancouver, which entered the game third in the Western Conference, dropped its fourth straight game after winning six straight.
Marian Hossa, who scored Chicago's second and third goals, never saw the end of the game. Seventy seconds into the third period, Jannik Hansen hit Hossa from behind with a left forearm to the right side of the head in front of the Chicago bench. The puck was above Hossa's head at the time.
Hossa was on the United Center ice for about 75 seconds before being helped to the "quiet room," used to detect a possible concussion. Hansen was given a roughing penalty.
It was almost precisely where Hossa was run by Phoenix's Raffi Torres in last year's playoffs. Hossa missed the remainder of the playoffs, and wasn't cleared to play until mid-December, about a month before the league's lockout ended.
Hossa's first goal, a 35-foot slapshot on a power play with 6:12 left in the second period, gave the Hawks a 2-1 lead. His second goal was a highlight-reel affair. He danced away from Bieksa, then found room in the slot while teammate Brandon Saad tied up defenseman Jason Garrison and caromed the puck off goaltender Cory Schneider into the net.
Patrick Sharp scored Chicago's first goal 6:36 into the second period on a slapshot from the left circle.
The Canucks started the first of four straight road games well offensively, taking the play to the Hawks, and finally scoring when Daniel Sedin's all-but-harmless backhand from a deep angle leaked through Emery's pads at 13:34 of the first. He had stopped Sedin on a pair of breakaway chances, and made a difficult save on Zack Kassian as well. Emery stopped 29 shots.
Schneider, who made 40 saves, was equally busy early, stopping Toews and Hossa in the first eight minutes. The wide-open style of the early shifts was a hint of things to come.
NOTES: The return of top-six forward David Booth to the Vancouver lineup meant sending center Andrew Ebbett to the AHL Chicago Wolves after he cleared waivers. Booth, who suffered a pulled groin in fitness testing on the opening day of training camp, skated with Dale Weise and Max Lapierre on the fourth line. ... The Canucks started Cory Schneider in goal even though Roberto Luongo beat the Hawks in a shootout on Feb. 1 in Vancouver. ... Ray Emery played his third straight game subbing for Chicago's No. 1 goalie, Corey Crawford, who is out due to a probable concussion. Crawford skated in the morning and is expected to do so again Wednesday. ... Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook, out of the lineup for the first time since November 2011, is listed as day-to-day. He was hit in the groin by a shot in the first period of Sunday's game against Los Angeles, but he took a regular shift thereafter. Duncan Keith, Seabrook's regular partner, was first paired with Sheldon Brookbank, then Michal Roszival. ... The attendance was 21,423, the Hawks' 196th consecutive sellout.
